


The Company Twitter

by Wonderjam



Category: 30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい | 30-sai Made Doutei da to Mahou Tsukai ni Nareru Rashii (TV), 30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい | Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! (Manga)
Genre: Adachi doesn't have powers in this one, Company Twitter AU, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Getting Together, I spent so long trying to format this but I still can't get it down, Lighthearted, M/M, Messed up sequence, a godawful poem, adachi and tsuge share one brain cell, no specific time frame, relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28178736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonderjam/pseuds/Wonderjam
Summary: The company president has his mind set on a company Twitter account to increase exposure, with different departments in the office taking turns to run it.  When it's Adachi's turn, things don't always go so smoothly, especially after a drink and a case of mixing up the company Twitter and his private Twitter.  Especially when he's tweeting about Kurosawa.
Relationships: Adachi Kiyoshi/Kurosawa Yuichi
Comments: 50
Kudos: 251





	The Company Twitter

**Author's Note:**

> 70% of this fic is typing __over and over again lol. I got lost so many times writing this fic but I really wanted to make CONTENT. It's a wild unedited trainwreck and I'm releasing it into the wider world now. Be free.

A company Twitter.

Adachi stared in horror at the briefing sheet on his desk and despaired.  
Sure, he used social media on a regular basis and was pretty familiar with the advertising that would pop up from time to time, but for an old, traditional company to suddenly swoop down this route?

“Everyone! From the trends compiled over the past few years, I’m sure you have all noticed that clients are increasingly moving their businesses online. To address this, we have a new proposal to boost our engagement and sales. I’m sure everyone will do their best!”

Rokkaku. Ah, Rokkaku. A fresh-faced young graduate… with fresh, youthful ideas. He had the right idea, using social media to expand the company, but…

The president. Ah, the president. He was not unreasonable, but he was old and out of touch. And for the President to enthusiastically take the reins of the project…

“For this trial period, we will take turns every week for a representative from each department to run the Tweeter…”  
“Ah… it’s ‘Twitter’, Mr President…”  
“Mm? Of course, the Tweater, that’s what I said.”  
Adachi smacked his head on his desk. There was only one possible way this could get worse. He just had to hope Urabe would not throw the responsibility of running the Twitter account on him.

  
\----

  
First up was the marketing department.  
  
Fujisaki ended up being the first to take control of the account and introduce it to the wider world on the internet. She was a good fit for the role, her gentle enthusiasm and sincerity would shine through, although Adachi had a feeling that she had not volunteered herself into the position and the other girls in marketing had nudged her into it. Nonetheless, he went out that afternoon to the bakery and picked out a cake for her.  
  
She was still at her desk when he got back, so Adachi tried to quietly deposit the small box on her desk without disturbing her as he walked past. Of course, she noticed immediately.  
  
“Eh, Adachi?” Fujisaki peered into the box. “What’s this?”  
  
Adachi cringed internally and wheeled round at the sound of her voice. His heart was in the right place, but he was still incredibly awkward at the best of times. He tried to offer her a smile, except it came out as an awkward kind of grimace.  
  
“It’s, it’s, ah… it’s cake,” he said, lamely.  
Fujisaki looked back at him, and huffed out a small laugh, both fond and exasperated. “Yes, it is. What’s the occasion, then?”  
  
Adachi sweated. Of course he had planned to give it to her in person and let her know its message, but once he got there in person, it was an entirely different story.  
  
“Ah… the Twitter. For the company. Just to wish you good luck,” he mumbled.  
  
Fujisaki smiled. “You didn’t have to.”  
  
Adachi paused for a moment and decided to speak his mind.  
  
“I just guessed you might not have actually volunteered to do it yourself, so it’s just a bit of encouragement from me, that’s all.”  
  
Fujisaki took this in and glanced around the office before looking back at him. “Perceptive as ever, Adachi,” she said, and sighed a little. “I’ll just have to set a good example, won’t I?”  
  
She was obviously nervous about this responsibility, and Adachi was grateful that she trusted him enough to let it show in front of him.  
  
“You have my support, Fujisaki – san,” he said, suddenly feeling more confident. “Do your best.”  
  
Fujisaki smiled sincerely at him. “Thank you,” she said. “And for the cake as well.”Adachi made his way back to his own desk, unaware that Kurosawa had been watching the exchange from the door with more than a bit of envy.

  
\----

  
@ToyokawaOfficial  
**Everyone, welcome to the official Toyokawa Twitter account! Please stay tuned as we bring you updates about our company. Thank you for your support!**

Adachi refreshed the page.  
  
The company Twitter had launched a few hours ago, Fujisaki having made the first post with the support of the marketing team cheering her on. Everyone cheered and she smiled, laughing and graciously accepting the encouragement, but the dark circles under her eyes suggested she’d been up all night, stressing over exactly what to write. Adachi felt for her.  
  
He looked back down at his phone.  
  
No likes yet.  
  
He looked back up. The crowd had largely dispersed by now and Fujisaki was staring nervously down at her phone, no doubt doing the same thing.  
  
Oh, what the hell. Adachi’s thumb hovered over the like button. It wasn’t like he had any identifying names on his own account, and he always stayed private, anyway. He pressed the heart button and watched Fujisaki’s face light up.  
  
There.

  
\----

  
Soon after, a couple more likes began popping up, as well as the occasional subscriber or two, drawn in by Fujisaki’s pleasant and friendly tone which set it apart from other corporate socials.

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**I don’t even know why I’m following this page. I’m not even working a job yet, but the person who runs the account just seems so encouraging…**

  
@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**It’s Saturday night and I just want to know more about how to market a product this is my life now**

Soon enough, a week had gone by. Fujisaki had successfully amassed a respectable number of devoted followers, most of whom seemed to be college or high school students. Adachi could tell she was relieved when she handed the account over to the next department.

  
\----

  
By order of lucky draw, sales was next. The task fell to Rokkaku, who decided to do his Twitter takeover via stories.  
  
“I’m not sure twitter stories are that popular,” Kurosawa had said, gently, but Rokkaku flailed around so enthusiastically that no one tried to dissuade him any further.  
  
Adachi perked up when he heard this. Kurosawa, knowing the ins and outs of social media? Adachi snickered to himself. What if superman Kurosawa had a secret Twitter account no one knew about? What accounts would he follow? Adachi pulled his phone out and thumbed quickly to the company Twitter page. Twitter was work, after all. Had to keep tabs on the company project and all that. He scrolled through the list of followers.  
  
As per algorithm, his colleagues were suggested to him right at the top. It was obvious which was Urabe’s account. He made no effort whatsoever to conceal his identity on social media, and just posted mostly about baseball. Likewise, Rokkaku’s Twitter was quite glaringly obvious, and he tweeted quite frequently too. Small daily updates about things that happened to him, photographs of himself and his friends dancing in the park. His bio had a link to an alt account, which Adachi found was private. Fujisaki’s account was private as well, but the profile picture was a very artistic photograph of who Adachi assumed to be Fujisaki, back facing the camera in a cute looking café. He scrolled further, but there was nothing else.  
  
Adachi tried not to be disappointed. What was he expecting, anyway? A glimpse into the private life of Kurosawa, who was always so perfect?  
  
Adachi shook his head and closed the page.

  
\----

  
“Hello, everyone! It’s Rokkaku from the Toyokawa sales department. I’m going to be hosting this week’s Twitter takeover, so I’ll be grateful for everyone’s support!”  
  
First thing Monday morning, Rokkaku wasted no time diving right into the company account. He stood at the entrance to the office floor, welcoming everyone who walked in with the phone and some commentary. Soon enough, word had spread that Rokkaku was lying in wait with the camera on and everyone was avoiding the main entrance. Rokkaku seemed disappointed that he wasn’t getting many more people to greet, but quickly turned his attention elsewhere.

“As a junior salesman, the first thing I do when I get to the office is go through all the files of today’s clients!” Adachi looked over and saw Rokkaku enthusiastically waving the files at the company phone. “Then!” Rokkaku plunks the files down, I make notes on what each client requires today, and get ready to discuss their needs with our company superstar – “ Rokkakku double taps the screen, switching to the back camera, “ – Kurosawa – san!”  
Kurosawa, who had been staring at Adachi, snapped back to attention at the mention of his name. Seeing the phone pointed at him, he recovered quickly.  
  
“Hello, viewers. Please support us today.” He waved and finished off his greeting with a winning smile, the one he gave to appease his office fan club. Satisfied, Rokkaku turned the camera back to himself. “Ladies and gentlemen, the legendary Kurosawa – san. I really look up to him! I’m going to work hard to be just like him!”  
  
Kurosawa laughed and said something modest offscreen. He turned back to glance in Adachi’s direction, but Adachi had already turned away.  
  
Kurosawa tried not to be disappointed.  
  


Meanwhile, Adachi was in fact refreshing the company Twitter page and had clicked into Rokkaku’s stories. The camera switched to Kurosawa, catching him looking elsewhere in the office, and Adachi’s eyes widened.  
  
_Who was he looking at?  
_  
Adachi stifled a giggle as Kurosawa was caught off guard when Rokkaku called him.  
  
_So Kurosawa is human, too,_ he mused. _I wonder if someone at the office has caught his attention.  
_  
He tapped on.  
  
_Whoa, his smile really is blinding.  
_  
“– I’ll check back with everyone at lunchtime. See you all later!”  
  
Rokkaku finished off his morning segment and Adachi put his phone away. He had work to do.

  
\----

  
The office was relatively peaceful after that, since Kurosawa and Rokkaku both left shortly after to go and see their clients. It was lunchtime in the staff cafeteria when Adachi saw Rokkaku again, who was clearly on a roll with the Twitter stories.  
  
“Hi again, everyone! It’s Rokkaku again, checking in at lunch! After a full morning of seeing clients, I’m pretty hungry now so I’m headed to our staff cafeteria here in the company building.”  
  
This is turning more into a day in the life rather than explaining what our company does, Adachi thought, but it definitely seemed more interesting than explaining the minutiae of client meetings.  
  
“Adachi!” Rokkaku exclaimed, breaking Adachi out of his thoughts. Adachi startled and choked on a mouthful of double mayo onigiri. Unfortunately, that had all been caught on camera. “Are you alright?” Rokkaku yelped, temporarily dropping the company phone to help him. “Yeah,” Adachi spluttered, “no problems.”  
  
Rokkaku beamed, and patted him on the back before plunking himself down opposite Adachi.

_Oh no._

“This is my colleague, Adachi!” Rokkaku began, and before Adachi could frantically wave at him to not, Rokkaku had pointed the camera on him again. Adachi froze, wide eyed.  
  
“Say hello, Adachi,” Rokkaku prompted, not catching on to Adachi’s momentary panic. “Oh,” Adachi managed, nodding jerkily at the camera.  
  
“Hey, Rokkaku. Take a rest and eat your lunch first! It’s not the data analysis department’s turn for the Twitter yet,” a smooth, light voice cuts in. Adachi breathes a sigh of relief and turns to look at his saviour.  
  
His heart drops.  
  
“Kurosawa – san!” Greeted Rokkaku, scooting his things over on the table. “Join us!”  
  
Kurosawa smiled and glanced at Adachi, who was looking anywhere but Kurosawa. Kurosawa must have picked up on it, because he looked down before looking back at Rokkaku (and his godforsaken camera) to respond.  
  
“Don’t worry about it, Rokkaku. I was just going back to my desk anyway, but I thought I’d remind you to use your lunch break to actually eat.”  
  
“Kurosawa – san, considerate as always!” Rokkaku announced to the camera, but then just as Kurosawa was about to step away, Adachi spoke before he could stop himself.  
  
“I don’t mind,” he said, mildly, before immediately wondering why he’d said that.  
  
_What are you thinking!_ Adachi screamed at himself. _This is Kurosawa we’re talking about! He’s so criminally popular, what are you doing thinking you can associate yourself with him!  
_  
But before Adachi could even start to berate himself for heedlessly taking on the ire of the Kurosawa fan club, Kurosawa had lit up, said “Sure, if you don’t mind then” and slid gracefully into the seat right next to Adachi. Adachi was sure steam was coming out of his ears.  
  


“All right!” said Rokkaku, cheerfully, and finally, finally, put the phone down.  
  
There was relative silence for a few minutes as Rokkaku started wolfing down his lunch, but it was Kurosawa who broke the silence first.  
  
“An onigiri, Adachi? Are you sure that’s enough for you?”  
  
“Uh, yeah,” Adachi mumbled, “I just get them on the way to work. It’s quick and easy.”  
  
Rokkaku had stopped eating to join in the conversation. “You should get something from the cafeteria, Adachi! The food’s not bad.”  
  
“I’ll buy you something,” Kurosawa decided, and made to get up. Adachi’s brain short circuited, and before he knew what he was doing he’d grabbed onto Kurosawa’s arm to pull him back into his seat.  
  
“No! No, I can’t let you do that, you’re too kind,” Adachi babbled, and wondered briefly why Kurosawa was so quiet before realizing he still had his hand on Kurosawa’s wrist. Wide eyed, Adachi slowly dragged his vision upwards to meet Kurosawa’s face. Kurosawa looked shocked, but made no move to pull away. Adachi was frozen.  
  
_Even making this expression,_ he thought, _Kurosawa still looks so graceful and perfect._ If he looked closer, Adachi thought he might have glimpsed… hope? In Kurosawa’s warm eyes. Then Kurosawa inhaled sharply, breaking the spell, and Adachi ripped his hand away in horror.  
  
“I am so sorry,” he spluttered. “I’ll just, ah – “ Adachi jerked upright, chair screeching behind him, scooped up the plastic wrapping from his onigiri and fled.  
  
He didn’t hear Kurosawa calling after him.

  
\----

  
The atmosphere in the office after lunch was awkward. Adachi could feel Kurosawa’s eyes on his back, and hunched further into himself. His phone had dinged a few times, alerting him to the fact that Rokkaku had posted more stories, but he didn’t have the heart to go through them and look at Kurosawa’s perfect face again.  
  
_What was I thinking,_ Adachi thought, gloomily. _Thinking that I could talk to Kurosawa and not make a fool of myself. I guess some people are just born with the natural charisma he has.  
_  
On the other side of the office, Kurosawa was also sulking. Just a little bit.  
  
_There goes my chance to talk to Adachi,_ he thought, and glanced up for the umpteenth time to look at Adachi again. _Damn it.  
_  
Rokkaku broke him out of his reverie with a request to look over his work, and Kurosawa shook the insecurities from his mind.  
  
_Later._

  
\----

  
As soon as the clock signalled the end of the day, Adachi was on his feet and charging out of the office as fast as he could.  
  
“Are you alright?” Fujisaki called after him, but he was already way too far ahead to look back.  
  
“Fine! See you tomorrow!” he shouted back, and rushed out.  
  
“What was that all about?” Urabe snorted. Fujisaki shrugged. “I’ll send him a message later,” she said.  
  
Urabe wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh? Good for you.”  
  
“Not like that, Urabe – san,” Fujisaki said, sharp but polite, and turned to continue packing her things away.  
  
Unbeknownst to them, Kurosawa had been listening. _So there’s nothing going on between Adachi and Fujisaki – san,_ he thought, and felt a rush of happiness before he scolded himself for feeling that way and tamped the feeling down hard, filing his papers away with maybe just a touch more force than usual. But try as he might, Kurosawa was just unable to shake the feeling off. He was determined to speak to Adachi again, and even if it didn’t work out… then at least he tried.

  
\----

  
Adachi arrived back at his flat, wearily closed the door behind him and flopped down face first onto his bed without even taking his suit jacket off. He groaned out loud into his pillow.  
  
_A day of embarrassment,_ he thought.  
  
After a while of stewing in self-pity, Adachi finally heaved himself up, shrugged off his jacket and hung it up before pulling his phone out to browse.  
  
The notifications from Rokkaku’s stories were still there, and Adachi hesitated.  
  
_Well, I’m at home now,_ he thought glumly. _Even if I embarrass myself, I’m the only one around to see._ He clicked into the notification and settled back to watch, thumbing the volume up.  
  
It seemed Rokkaku had been extremely busy.

“Everyone! Welcome back! Lunch break is over now, so it’s back to work for me. Let me show you what my afternoon looks like,” began Rokkaku onscreen. The screen shook a little, and Adachi guessed he was making his way back to the office from the cafeteria.  
  
“First, I like to stop by the vending machine on the 15th floor –“ Adachi couldn’t hold back a laugh. _So this was turning into a day in the life!_  
  
“ – and get myself a can of coffee. This is for later, because I know I’m going to get tired, but then I’d be too busy to go to the vending machine! Now, you might be thinking, doesn’t that mean the coffee won’t be cold anymore? Yes, I confess here and now, I drink my coffee at room temperature. What? I have a sensitive stomach, okay…”  
  
Before long, Adachi found himself smiling along at Rokkaku’s antics as he rambled on all the way back to the office.  
  
“And here we are, back again,” Rokkaku announced, and Adachi recognized the familiar entrance of their office.  
  
“As usual, Kurosawa – san is already hard at work, way ahead of everyone else…” the camera pans to Kurosawa, who looks up and gives a wave.  
  
Rokkaku thrusts his fist out, like a microphone, and adopts an exaggerated newscaster’s voice. “Kurosawa – san, star of Toyokawa sales department! How do you do it, being so hardworking all the time?”  
  
Kurosawa chuckled good naturedly, and Adachi felt his stomach do a flip. It was honestly unfair of Kurosawa to be so perfect and friendly all the time. “Ah, I just like to give it my all, so that at the end of the day I can feel satisfied with myself for accomplishing my tasks to the best of my ability,” Kurosawa said, and had anyone else said that, Adachi would have assumed it was fake, annoying talk said only because of the camera. However, when Kurosawa said it, he sounded so sincere that Adachi could only nod along in admiration.  
  
“As expected of Kurosawa – san!” Rokkaku said admiringly, and flipped the camera back to himself. “Now, onto my tasks for the afternoon…”

For the next couple of stories, Rokkaku diligently explained how he put together the sales pitches given to clients and Adachi found himself surprisingly interested in the machinations of the sales department, which usually seemed so disconnected and far away from his own department.  
  
_Rokkaku, when he put his mind to it, was also a very intelligent and hardworking person,_ Adachi reflected, _he clearly knows what he’s talking about. No wonder he works under Kurosawa._  
  
Distantly, he registered that his phone dinged with a message from Fujisaki, but he was too lost in thought to check it.  
  
“Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without the data compiled by the analytics department!” Rokkaku said, and Adachi immediately snapped out of his thoughts.  
  
“That’s right, isn’t it the analytics department’s turn to take the Twitter account next week? Well, you’d all better be looking forward to it, but of course, please support the sales department’s takeover too!”  
  
Adachi shifted nervously. Surely it wouldn’t be him doing the takeover, he was too quiet for that. But then Rokkaku winked at the camera and said, "shout out to my friend Adachi from earlier today! He’s from the analytics department, so maybe you’ll be seeing more of him next week!”  
  
“Eh??!” Adachi yelped out loud to himself and almost dropped his phone. _Rokkaku, why?! Oh god, oh god._  
  
Adachi knew Rokkaku wasn’t doing it out of malice at all, he was just too sociable… but the damage had been done. At least Adachi had another week before the dreaded Twitter would be passed on to his department, but it didn't stop him from worrying any less.

  
\----

  
The next day, Kurosawa woke up extra early. After washing up and getting dressed, he threw his apron on and got to work in his kitchen.  
  
_A bento for Adachi._ It was perfect. That way, Kurosawa could make sure he ate a proper lunch and have the excuse to talk to him… Kurosawa shook himself out of his pleasant thoughts of cooking for Adachi on a regular basis and got to work beating the eggs.

Half an hour later, Kurosawa put the finishing touches on the food and leaned back to admire his handiwork. Rice, tamagoyaki and a few other selections, arranged neatly in a two-tiered bento box. It was perfect. Kurosawa stacked the boxes, snapped the lid on, carefully wrapped the box up in a cloth, twisted the knot closed and placed it gently in a small bag. It was time to go to work.  
  


Kurosawa literally couldn’t believe his luck when he turned the corner at the office and saw Adachi step out of the elevator, adorable bedhead and all. “Adachi!” he called, and Adachi jumped a little at the sound of his name.  
  
_Adorable,_ Kurosawa thought, before walking quickly to catch up with him.  
  
“Kurosawa,” Adachi greeted, awkwardly, glancing up to meet Kurosawa’s gaze before his eyes darted back down to stare at his shoes. Suddenly, Kurosawa hesitated. _Was this the right thing to do? He seems so nervous. But he’ll just eat those rice balls again if I don’t…_

“I, ah,” Kurosawa began, suddenly shy. He pulled the small bag out and held it out to Adachi. “Here. You don’t have just eat an onigiri today.”  
  
He watched as Adachi’s eyes widened. “Kurosawa, really?” Adachi exclaims, looking wondrously surprised, before he quickly reigns himself back in.  
  
“You really… didn’t have to,” Adachi mumbled, flushing a very fetching shade of red. He seemed quite lost, so Kurosawa nudged the bag towards him again.  
  
“It was no problem at all, I just prepared a little too much for myself,” he said airily, trying to come off as casual and hoping really hard that Adachi would accept the bento.  
  
Adachi reached out cautiously, and their fingers brushed as he gingerly took hold of the bag strap. “Thank you, Kurosawa,” Adachi said, “it’s really so thoughtful of you, you’re really amazing.”  
  
And it was Kurosawa’s turn to blush as Adachi’s words fell like seedlings in his heart and bloomed into beautiful flowers.  
  
“You’re exaggerating,” was all he said, and smiled as he turned to go, but Adachi called after him. “Wait,” he said, fidgeting.  
  
Kurosawa waited.  
  
“Let me treat you next time,” Adachi said, hesitantly. Kurosawa could barely breathe, but he squashed down the exhilaration, filing it away for later, and just smiled.  
  
“I’ll be waiting,” he said cheerfully, and left.

The wind rushed out of Adachi the moment Kurosawa was out of sight.  
  
_What was that?! So random! Also, Kurosawa can cook?!  
  
_But who was Adachi to refuse him when Kurosawa was staring at him so hopefully like that, and offering him home cooked food as if it was his heart on a silver platter?  
  
_Adachi, what are you doing,_ he berated himself, _what makes you think Kurosawa even likes you, he’s literally this considerate to everyone. And offering to treat him next time… what are you even going to do? Why did you think he would say yes? Why did he even say yes??!_

Adachi fumbled back to the office in a daze, grasping the small bag in his hand. But once he got to the main entrance, he was met with raucous cheering and celebration, with Rokkaku in the centre of it all. Adachi slipped to his desk, blinking in confusion. _What was going on?_  
  
Urabe leaned over. “Rokkaku’s stories made the company Twitter blow up overnight,” he said glumly. “We have big, big shoes to fill next week.”  
  
Adachi fumbled in his pockets for his phone and frantically opened the Twitter app, searching for the company’s page. His jaw dropped as he took in the latest follower count. “7000 in one night? Are you kidding me?” Urabe shook his head, still looking over at the celebrations nervously. Adachi turned his attention back to his phone and scrolled furiously. #Toyokawa was trending and he clicked into it.  
  


@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Omg, what did the internet do while I was asleep.  
  
**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Rokkaku is so cute! Is he a streamer?  
  
**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Anyone got Kurosawa’s @ holy shit I’m thirsty af  
  
**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Why is everyone at Toyokawa so hot I knew I should have interned there  
  
**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**How did a corporate twitter blow up overnight, wtf  
  
**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Adachi is sooooooooo cute omg  
  
**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Does Kurosawa have the hots for Adachi? Their interactions are so cute omf #Kurodachi  
  
**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**IKR omfg I’m not the only one Kurosawa def likes him #Kurodachi  
  
**

Adachi stared, slack jawed, at his phone.  
  
Urabe was trying very hard not to look at him.  
  
Fujisaki hurried over to Adachi. “Adachi,” she said, and Adachi jolted out of his stupor. Fujisaki jerked her head in the direction of the photocopier and Adachi jumped up, eager to get away.  
  
“I was worried when you didn’t respond to my message last night,” Fujisaki said, pretending to copy a document.  
  
“Ah,” said Adachi, “I’m sorry for making you worry, I was just really tired when I got home.” Fujisaki pursed her lips. “I was trying to warn you about this. I was watching the hashtag grow all night, but then people started to notice the way Kurosawa looked at you.”  
  
Adachi stared, wide eyed, at her.  
  
“The way Kurosawa looks at me?”  
  
Fujisaki looked exasperated. “Don’t tell me you don’t know.”  
  
“I don’t!” Adachi whisper-shouted, and looked through the clear partition for Kurosawa.  
  
It was easy enough to find him. Kurosawa was in the middle of the throng of people, and Adachi could hear what the President was saying to him. “Kurosawa, impeccable as always, you’ve already garnered so many fans! Keep it up!” Kurosawa smiled graciously. “The credit goes to Rokkaku, Mr President.”  
  
Adachi gaped. “Toilet,” he made out, and dashed off. Adachi crashed into the toilets, flung the tap on and started frantically splashing his face. _Kurosawa… the hots… for me???_ He blindly smacked around in front of him until he slapped the tap off, and leaned heavily over the sink, breathing hard, water dripping everywhere.  
  
“Rokkaku sure takes his job seriously, huh?”  
  
Adachi jumped and spun around. _Of course. Of course it was him.  
_  
Kurosawa leaned against a cubicle and chuckled.  
  
“Oh,” Adachi spluttered a moment later, frantically wiping water from his eyes.  
  
“Our company, suddenly thrust into the spotlight, huh,” Kurosawa continued. He paused to look at Adachi, offering him a tissue. “You did a good job keeping cool in Rokkaku’s story. He’s a bit of a whirlwind at times.”  
  
“Oh,” was the only thing Adachi could say.

An air of anticipation hung over lunchtime. Kurosawa and Rokkaku had rushed out of the office shortly after, and there was no sign of them even as people began making their way to the staff cafeteria.  
  
Adachi made his way to his usual table with the small bag Kurosawa had given him. He pulled out the box, wrapped neatly in cloth, stunned at the effort that Kurosawa had put into making this… _all this for me?_ He thought, pulling at the knot to reveal a wooden bento box. Adachi held his breath as he slowly lifted the lid.  
  
He stared for a minute.  
  
_How does Kurosawa know what I like…? Has he really been paying more attention to me…?_

“Itadakimasu.”

The food was delicious.

  
\----

  
It was almost the end of the workday, and Kurosawa and Rokkaku had still not reappeared in the office. “Business trip,” Fujisaki told Adachi, when he asked. “They’ll be back tomorrow.” She said all this with a fond but knowing sort of look, and Adachi muttered his thanks before rushing away.  
  
The end of the workday really could not come soon enough. Adachi rushed home, elbowing past countless people in the rush to the train, flinging his backpack down the second he got through the door. Hands shaking, he opened Twitter and sure enough, #Kurodachi was trending.  
  
There was no going back from here.  
  
Adachi tapped the hashtag.

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
  
**In the first story, Kurosawa – san is looking across the room, he must be looking at Adachi – san**  
_(Screenshots of Rokkaku’s story showing how he panned across the office, with red arrows inserted in the pictures to show Kurosawa’s line of sight.)_

  
  
@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Omg it’s so obvious how did I not notice it before**

  
  
@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Kurosawa is such a gentleman**

  
  
@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Adachi – san looks so relieved when Kurosawa – san comes to his rescue at lunch lol**

  
  
@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**They’re boyfriends, right??? Right????????**

  
  
@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Rokkaku ships it**

  
  
@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Thank you Rokkaku – san for the food**

  
  
@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Kurosawa tops don’t @ me**

  
  
  
Adachi blushed. It was endless. Screenshots, comments, stating how ‘obvious’ it was.  
  
_Was it?_  
  
Adachi himself had never really paid attention. Kurosawa has always been on an entirely different level, Adachi had no hope of associating himself with that kind of popularity and so didn’t bother to notice what was happening there. He scrolled further.  
  
There was a screenshot of Kurosawa smiling at him in the cafeteria, and Adachi stopped to look at it properly. Kurosawa’s smile was soft and affectionate, and for a second Adachi felt bad that he hadn’t appreciated it at the time.  
  
_What was this feeling?_  
  
Adachi flopped down on his bed, staring at the ceiling.  
  
_Does Kurosawa actually like me? Me? And Kurosawa? Me and Kurosawa?_  
  
They’d never really talked before, always on the periphery of each other’s circles in the office. Kurosawa had always been just as kind and considerate to him as he was to anyone else in the office, but then that drunken incident happened.  
  
Kurosawa, always so infallible, suddenly revealing just how vulnerable he was on the inside, and Adachi had stayed to listen and take care of that person who was hurting and had so far been unable to show that side to anyone.  
  
Adachi brushed it off afterwards when Kurosawa approached him the next day to thank him. It wasn’t a big deal to Adachi, and it wasn’t something he would be making a fuss out of either, to help Kurosawa preserve his perfect image in the company.  
  
However, Kurosawa definitely seemed to soften up around him after that. His gaze lingered a little longer, his smile and his laugh more genuine when he was around Adachi. Adachi, misunderstanding, simply told him there was no need and Kurosawa had done so much more for him by drinking in his place.  
  
Kurosawa paused when he heard this, but just smiled at him, as gentle as ever. “This is not repayment, Adachi,” he said, and when he left, Adachi thought maybe he understood just a little bit more.  
  
They had a comfortable sort of rapport in the office after that, but nothing more.  
  
Adachi rolled over.  
  
_Do I like Kurosawa? Who doesn’t? It’s impossible not to like him. But the way he’s so sincere to me… I never realized before. This is so new to me, though… I wouldn’t know what to do. I don’t know what I want._  
  
  
That night, Adachi drifted into a restless sleep.

  
\----

  
Sure enough, when Adachi arrived at the office, Kurosawa was already there. Kurosawa lit up when he saw Adachi.  
  
“Good morning!”  
  
“Ah, good morning,” Adachi replied cautiously.  
  
“So, Twitter, huh? It's pretty crazy, isn't it.”  
  
_Damn it._ Cutting right to the chase. “Uh, yeah.”  
  
_Oh my god, this is happening way too soon. I’m not ready to face it yet, whatever this is._  
  
Kurosawa seemed to accept his response as a reply to an unanswered question that Adachi didn’t get, and he visibly slumped a little.  
  
Suddenly, Adachi remembered he had Kurosawa’s bento box in his bag.  
  
“Ah, one moment!” he said, grateful for something else to talk about.  
  
Fumbling in his bag for the box, he offered it back to Kurosawa. “Thanks again for the food. It was really good,” he mumbled. Kurosawa beamed.  
  
“Adachi is too kind. How about I cook for you every day?”  
  
“...Eh?” _I think I just made it worse._  
  
Kurosawa’s grin widened.  
  
“Ah, uh, that’s not necessary,” Adachi tripped over his words in shock. “That is, what I mean is… Kurosawa is too kind, making lunch for me already. I don’t want to impose any more.”  
  
“It would be my pleasure,” Kurosawa said, immediately, and Adachi facepalmed internally.  
  
Kurosawa must have picked up on his discomfort, because he backtracked. “No pressure at all,” he said, still smiling, but it was clearly a little disappointed. “Just let me know anytime.”  
  
Another polite smile and Kurosawa sauntered off, and Adachi looked at his retreating form, wanting to call after him but not knowing what to say.

  
\----

  
The week flew by, and Toyokawa Twitter’s popularity increased exponentially. Rokkaku continued to work the account like a pro, and by the end of the week, followers were begging him to stay.  
  
“I’ll miss you guys too!” Rokkaku said cheerfully. “But you’ll be in good hands next week, and it’s not the last you’ll see of me either! I hope you enjoyed my Twitter takeover and thank you again for supporting me!”  
  
Rokkaku waved as he ended his last story, and immediately slumped over his desk afterwards, groaning loudly.  
  
“Oh god, thank god my week is finished!” he exclaimed.  
  
Adachi heard Kurosawa laugh and reply, “you seemed like you were enjoying it.”  
  
“I was!” came Rokkaku’s quick response, but it really is tiring and I’m so glad for a break now!”  
  
Kurosawa’s voice again, gentle and full of praise.  
  
“You did well, Rokkaku. Why don’t you go home early today, I’ll do the rest. Remember to hand the phone off before you go.”  
  
“Really, Kurosawa – san? If you mean it, I’d be really grateful.”  
  
Adachi imagined Kurosawa smiling indulgently and waving Rokkaku off.  
  
“Of course I mean it. See you on Monday.”  
  
“All right! I’ll be the first one here on Monday for sure. Thanks, Kurosawa – san!”  
  
Adachi hunched over even further, trying to disappear. The company phone was about to be handed off to the analytics department.  
  
Footsteps, approaching.  
  
“Urabe – san!”  
  
_So far, so good._  
  
“You did great this week,” Adachi heard Urabe say.  
  
“Thank you for your support,” Rokkaku replied enthusiastically, now standing directly behind him. “I’m passing this to you now.”  
  
“Of course,” Urabe says, and it sounds like he’s chuckling weakly.  
  
“Well, I’m off now. See you next week, Urabe – san,” Rokkaku said, his voice immediately sounding lighter without the company phone sized burden, and Adachi feels a hand suddenly clap him on the back and he has to refrain from jumping in his seat.  
  
“Bye, Adachi!”  
  
Adachi turned around just a fraction to wave at Rokkaku before whipping right back to type very busily into his computer. Not even a moment after Rokkaku breezed out of the office,  
  
“Adachiiiii…”  
  
_Oh god. Oh god oh god oh g –_  
  
“It’s me and my wife’s wedding anniversary this weekend…”  
  
_That’s what you said last month!_ Adachi screamed silently.  
  
“I promise you won’t have to do it alone, but could you take the phone for the weekend and prepare what to say for Monday?” Urabe wheedled. “Just Monday. Then you can give it back to me. And I’ll give it back to you. We can take turns. Plus, Rokkaku mentioned you in that story, and you seem pretty popular already. Please, Adachi?”  
  
Honestly, Adachi had seen it coming a mile away.  
  
“Just for Monday, I guess,” he said, unhappily.  
  
Urabe clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s my man,” he said, all sadness about his anniversary forgotten, and spun back to his desk.  
  
_Damn it._

  
\----

  
After a fruitless Saturday consisting of only frustrated headbanging and yelling into his hands, Adachi, out of sheer desperation, decided to consult Tsuge over dinner on Sunday.  
  
“Why am I always too cowardly to say no to Urabe – san!” Adachi whined, and smacked his head on the table with a little less control than normal. Tsuge flinched.  
  
“Adachi,” he said, brow furrowed in concern, “you should drink some water now.”  
  
Uncharacteristically, Adachi was so stressed he’d chugged his beer straight away instead of nursing it slowly like he usually did – while Tsuge was not even halfway through his first. After a while, the alcohol had hit him.  
  
Hard.  
  
Adachi continued to speak, voice slightly muffled by the table. “Not only that, but now the whole world seems to think Kurosawa and I make the perfect couple, saying he’s got the hots for me, but you know what’s worse, Tsuge? You know what’s worse?”  
  
He slowly lifted his head from the table, eyes slightly glazed, and Tsuge yelped and scrambled backwards at the sight. “Tsuge,” Adachi said. “This is just unfair.”  
  
“Adachi, what…” began Tsuge, but Adachi steamrolled on like he didn’t hear him. “I think I have the hots for Kurosawa.”  
  
Tsuge’s expression suddenly turned grave.  
  
“Stop that,” Adachi said. “I know that face. That’s the _‘I’m-memorizing-this-entire-sequence-of-events-so-I-can-put-it-in-a-romance-novel-later'_ face.”  
  
Tsuge’s grave expression lessened slightly in apology.  
  
Adachi slowly lowered his face back to the table. “This is terrible.”  
  
“From a romance novel point of view,” Tsuge said thoughtfully, “what would happen next is that you two would dance around each other forever until a tragic incident makes you both realize your true feelings.”  
  
“Great.”  
  
“So we just need to incite a tragic incident now.”  
  
“Tsuge, we are not inciting a tragic incident.”  
  
Tsuge, who was looking more and more excited by the second, sank sulkily back into his seat. “Fine. Maybe you should just confess to him. That’s also what happens in romance novels.”  
  
Adachi was slightly tipsy, but still managed to rearrange his features into a somewhat scandalized expression.  
  
“I don’t even know for sure that he likes me.”  
  
Tsuge held his hands up in defeat. “Just saying.”  
  
As Adachi returned his forehead to the cool spot on the table, a thought struck him.  
  
_Maybe confessing… was not such a bad idea. Once he’d gotten all these conflicting feelings out of his system, maybe the constant thought would stop bouncing around inside his brain like an old CD display screen. But… he could just anonymously put it out there on his personal Twitter account, feel as if the world had seen his own little confession, and feel better._  
  
“No, wait, you’re right. I’ll confess on Twitter,” Adachi babbled, and Tsuge’s eyebrows shoot right up into his fringe.  
  
“Are you out of your mind?” he hissed.  
  
Adachi looked offended.  
  
“I have literally 3 followers, Tsuge,” he said.  
  
_That’s right,_ Tsuge thought, guiltily. _Adachi hadn’t even posted on the company page yet, and he was already worrying about how many followers he’d be able to get after Rokkaku’s extremely successful week. All right then, I’ll do whatever it takes to support him._  
  
“What a daring stunt. Go for it, then.”  
  
Adachi beamed and fumbled in his pockets for his phone. Tsuge bristled.  
  
“You’re doing it now?”  
  
“When else? Were you expecting me to wait until tomorrow to post something like that in the office?”  
  
Adachi yanked out a sleek black phone and waved it around victoriously.  
  
“This, Tsuge, is the solution to all my problems.”  
  
“You’ve also had a lot to drink.”  
  
“That’s part of the solution. Help me think of what to say, you’re the novel writer here.”  
  
Tsuge scrubbed at his face.  
  
“What the hell. Let’s do it properly, you can’t be so direct. Write a poem.”  
  
“A poem.”  
  
Tsuge shrugged.  
  
“It’s romantic.”

_Kurosawa – san._  
_Please accept my confession._  
_Apple of my eye._

Tsuge peered at the screen.

“That’s so bad.”  
  
Adachi shot Tsuge a withering glare. “Shut up.”  
  
He fumbled around blearily on the phone until he hit the post button.  
  
“There. It’s done. I feel much better already.”  
  
“I’ll be the first to like your post,” Tsuge said, determinedly. He pulled out his own phone and tapped at it as Adachi leaned back and sighed.  
  
“Done.”  
  
“Thank you, Tsuge.”  
  
“It’s fine. Let’s go home, you need to sleep the alcohol off.”  
  
By the time Adachi had stumbled into his apartment, he was so tired that he just fell into bed and was asleep before his head even hit the pillow, oblivious to the nonstop chiming of the sleek, black company phone in his pocket.

  
\----

  
_Pain. Dull, throbbing pain. Too bright._  
  
Adachi flinched at the light and moaned when the movement aggravated his headache.  
  
_Where am I?_  
  
He cracked an eye open to the familiar sight of his desk.  
  
_Okay, I’m at home. Now, what time is it – oh, SHIT!_  
  
Adachi jolted up, patting his pockets down for his phone. Feeling something in his pocket, he pulled it out and frantically clicked it on to check the time.  
  
_7:30. Thank god._ He sagged in relief that he hadn’t slept through work, and dragged himself up, wincing.  
  
Luckily he hadn’t forgotten the company phone at the restaurant last night, and it was still –  
  
Adachi’s heart dropped.  
  
_The company phone._  
  
If the company phone was in his pocket, then what had he tweeted on last night?  
  
_Shit. Oh, shit._  
  
Adachi couldn’t bear to look. He might as well not go into work. Forever.  
  
Adachi clicked the phone on, and was immediately greeted with the enormous flood of Twitter notifications.  
  
  
@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Omg who tweeted this?????**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Didn’t Rokkaku say it would be Adachi – san this week**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**I knew it I fucking knew it**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**Holy shit is this real**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**My ship is alive omfg**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**The only good thing to come out of 2020 #Kurodachi**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**#Kurodachi is real!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

@ replying to @ToyokawaOfficial  
**I need to know what happened oh m y god #Kurodachi**

Adachi looked up from the screen in horror, and Tsuge’s voice flashed in his mind.

_We just need to incite a tragic incident now._

Oh, the irony. He’s so fucked.  
  
This is it. He has to go into work today, submit his resignation, return the company phone, then go home and die of embarrassment.  
  
But when Adachi walks shamefacedly into the office, it’s the president who rushes up to him, slapping him enthusiastically on the back.  
  
“What a stunt! Do you know how many followers we got overnight? Even getting the attention of the romance novelist Masato – san and all his followers… how did you do it? Oh, this is great exposure…” the president doesn’t linger, not actually expecting an answer or a response, and is already charging off to shake hands with other corporate bigwigs in the company.  
  
Adachi is frozen, feet glued to the floor. “Eh?!”  
  
Fujisaki hurried over to him, ushering him gently to his desk. “It wasn’t a stunt, was it, Adachi?” she whispered. “What did you do?”  
  
Adachi lifted his gaze to meet hers, still shell-shocked by the completely unexpected turn of events.  
  
“I thought… I thought I was posting to my private account,” Adachi swallowed thickly. “Oh, oh god.”  
  
Fujisaki genuinely looks sympathetic. “I think the president’s taking it better than you are, so no worries there, but you should really talk to Kurosawa. He floated in this morning in a weird sort of daze, but he and Rokkaku are still out doing client meetings. He’ll be back this afternoon.”  
  
Adachi has a wild look in his eyes. “Fujisaki, I can’t! What do I even say to him!”  
  
Fujisaki lays a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder, and Adachi stops. “Tell him it wasn’t a stunt,” she said. “You know what Kurosawa is like. He’s probably trying to convince himself you didn’t mean anything by it.”  
  
Her tone softened. “You two deserve to be happy. An opportunity like this… now that it’s happened, you need to make the best of it, knowing you tried. Alright?”  
  
Adachi met her eyes, this new revelation sinking just starting to sink in.  
  
He never actually considered that Kurosawa might have misread the situation entirely, like the self-sacrificing idiot he was.  
  
He nodded, shaky but determined. “I’ll talk to him,” he said, and Fujisaki smiled before giving him another light pat on the shoulder and heading back to her desk.  
  
Once she was gone, Urabe leaned over. “Kind of unconventional, but I’m not complaining at the amount of followers you pulled in for our department,” he said. He patted Adachi on the shoulder. “Maybe you should keep the phone for the rest of the week. Yep, that settles it. Keep it up!”  
  
Adachi let his head fall to the desk and let out a quiet groan. The wait was going to be excruciating.

  
\----

  
It was a little before lunch when Kurosawa and Rokkaku returned to the office. Rokkaku spotted Adachi and made a beeline straight for him.  
  
“Adachi!” Rokkaku shouted. “I didn’t think you were so forward, but you’re full of surprises! You sure managed to one up me there!”  
  
Adachi blushed furiously. “Rokkaku, it’s not like that,” he muttered, but fell silent as Kurosawa himself appeared behind Rokkaku.  
  
Kurosawa looked at Adachi, looking quite unsure of what to say, and it made for a strange atmosphere. He tried a smile. “Adachi,” he greeted.  
  
Adachi swallowed hard.  
  
“Kurosawa, could I talk to you?” he glanced at Rokkaku, who was looking back and forth at them with great interest.  
  
“alone?”  
  
Rokkaku seemed to get the hint. “I’m off to lunch, then!” he declared cheerfully.  
  
He winked very obviously at Adachi and slapped him on the back _(why was everyone doing that today?)_ before taking his leave.  
  
  
It was just him and Kurosawa now. “Let’s go in here,” Kurosawa broke the silence, gesturing at Adachi to follow him into one of the empty meeting rooms.  
  
Adachi nodded silently and followed him.  
  
The door closed, and the silence felt thicker than ever. Kurosawa spoke first. “Adachi, whatever it is, it’s okay. In the end it benefitted the company, right?” Kurosawa was trying for that smile again.  
  
_He’s trying to give me an easy way out,_ Adachi realized, and shook his head.  
  
“No.”  
  
Kurosawa’s smile faltered. “What is it?”  
  
“It wasn’t a stunt for the company. I would never do that to you! I was meant to post on my private account, but I’d had a bit to drink yesterday and mixed up the accounts.”  
  
Adachi looked down. “I’m really sorry about this.”  
  
Adachi squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his fists, bracing himself for Kurosawa to just politely laugh it off and dismiss him.  
  
_Oh god, what if I’ve gotten it all wrong? What if he doesn’t like me?_  
  
Kurosawa had been silent for an awfully long time.  
  
Adachi lifted his head slowly and hazarded a peek at his face. Kurosawa looked awestruck.  
  
“It wasn’t… a stunt?” Kurosawa said slowly.  
  
Adachi shook his head.  
  
“Oh, Adachi.”  
  
Kurosawa strode towards him and stopped short just out of reach.  
  
“Are you really saying what I think you’re saying?”  
  
It was now or never.  
  
“Kurosawa… I’m sorry I realized so late, that others saw your affection first when I was oblivious. I see it now, and… I’ve come to realize that I care about that person underneath the perfect Kurosawa, and I’d like to get to know him better. Kurosawa… I like you.”  
  
Kurosawa’s eyes were suspiciously shiny, but Adachi only got a quick look before Kurosawa lunged forward to close the distance between them and wrapped Adachi up in a fierce hug.  
  
“Adachi, I like you, I like you, I’ve liked you for so long,” Kurosawa’s voice is muffled in Adachi’s shoulder.  
  
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. I must be dreaming.” Kurosawa was clinging to Adachi like a drowning man, and Adachi found himself relaxing into Kurosawa’s embrace.  
  
_This actually feels nice,_ he thought, and carefully returned the hug.  
  
Kurosawa’s grip tightened when he felt Adachi’s hands come to rest on his back, and Adachi felt him take a deep breath, savouring the moment.  
  
They stayed like that for a while. Finally, Kurosawa reluctantly pulled away first. “Lunch break will be over soon,” he said, still lost in wonder, his voice a little shaky.  
  
He cleared his throat and visibly collected himself. “I don’t want you getting hungry.”  
  
Kurosawa smiled at Adachi properly this time, genuine and radiant, eyes soft.  
  
Adachi found himself not wanting his time with Kurosawa to end.  
  
“Do you want to go for a meal tonight? After work?” the words were out before Adachi could even stop himself.  
  
Kurosawa looked at him, clearly hopeful but still trying to be accommodating.  
  
“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose any more on you,” he began, but Adachi huffed out a quiet laugh.  
  
“I still owe you for lunch, so don’t worry about it.”  
  
Kurosawa’s eyes widened, understanding, and he brightened immediately.  
  
“In that case, I couldn’t refuse,” he said, and beamed at Adachi. “I’ll meet you after work, then.”  
  
Adachi nodded, too overwhelmed to say anything more. Kurosawa was still staring at him in wonder, as if Adachi would disappear if he stopped looking.  
  
He slowly raised a hand, inching towards Adachi’s face.  
  
Adachi’s breath caught in his throat, watching the minute tremble of Kurosawa’s hand, the only thing giving away how nervous he actually was.  
  
Adachi didn’t move, and Kurosawa gently brushed his fingers over Adachi’s cheek.  
  
“My Adachi,” he whispered, reverently.  
  
He withdrew and smiled radiantly before remembering himself and moving to the door.  
  
“Coming?” he said, sounding slightly breathless, and Adachi nodded.  
  
  
_Maybe the company Twitter wasn’t so bad after all._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading pls forgive my mistakes \o/


End file.
